Electric railway.



G. B. & J. F. McLEER.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY. APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1912.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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E POWER.

C. B. & J. F. MoLEER.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

APPLICATION rmzn JULY 27, 1912.

1,127,470. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. MCLEER AND JOSEPH F. McLEER, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORSTO ELECTRIC CARRIER COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CHARLES B. MCLEER andJOSEPH F. MCLEER, citizens of the United States, residing in Brooklyn,New York, have invented certain Improvements in Electric Railways, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in that type of electricrailway which has a fixed motor element along the right of way, and amovable motor element mounted on the car or other structure traveling onthe railway.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel form ofmounting for the traveling motor element, whereby this is so supportedas to be unaffected by the ordinary transverse movements of the car onwhich it is supported.

We further desire to provide a novel arrangement and construction of thefixed and movable members of a railway system of the type aboveindicated, whereby said members are maintained at a substantiallyconstant distance from each other, irrespective of the ordinarymovements of the car in directions transverse to its line of travel.

These objects and other advantageous ends we secure as hereinafter setforth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1, is a plan, to some extent diagrammatic, of a section of anelectric railway constructed according to our invention, the figure alsoshowing diagrammatically a portion of one of the cars designed tooperate on the system; Fig. 2, is a vertical section of the structureshown in Fig. 1; and Figs. 3 and 4, are respectively a vertical sectionand a side elevation, showing a slightly modified form of our invention.

In the above drawings, 1 represents the ties or sleepers of the railwaysystem on which are mounted track rails 2. These sleepers also serve tosupport two sets of brackets 3, of which each set has adjacent its topportion a guide-rail 4, extending parallel with the rails 2. Thebrackets 3 also serve to support two series of oppositely placed motormembers, consisting of laminated sections 5 slotted for the reception ofa conductor 6, preferably in the form of an elongated copper bar orplate having transverse slots fitting into suitably formed slots in thelaminated member 5. There thus extends along the right of way of therailroad, on each side thereof, a series of fixed motor members facingtoward each other.

The cars operating on the system may be made of the ordinary form or ofany other desired construction, and in the present instance we haveillustrated merely a supporting structure 7, in the form of an openframe, which is mounted in any suitable manner upon one of the trucks ofsuch car. This frame has a number of downwardly extending brackets 8, ineach pair of which is mounted a rod or bar 9 extending transversely ofsaid frame and at its opposite ends supporting frames 10; the latterhaving horizontally extending slots 10 for the reception ofsubstantially vertical pins 20 carried by said bar. Upon that portion ofeach of the bars 9 between each frame 10 and the adjacent bracket 8 wemount a spring 11, the arrangement being such that the two springs oneach of the bars serve to yieldingly position it and its frames withreference to the frame 7 and, therefore, to the truck.

It is to be understood that each of the frames 10 extends between andconnects two or more of the bars 9, and each has mounted on it two ormore guide wheels 12, placed to engage the guide-rail 4. Each of theframes 10 also carries a section of one of the movable motor members ofthe system. Such sections each consist of an elongated laminated ironcore 13 having a polyphase winding 14, and the arrangement of parts issuch that the wheels 12 by engaging the guide-rails 4, maintain theouter face of each of the sections 13 with its winding at apredetermined distance from the adjacent face of the core and windingconstituting the fixed motor members of the system.

In the present instance we have shown motor members on the truck frame 7as eaclr lOO made in three sections, and is construction is adopted inorder that the cars equipped with our apparatus may easily pass aroundcurves of relatively small radius without interfering with the properoperation of the apparatus.

Under operating conditions, it will be understood that a polyphasecurrent of electricity is supplied to the windings 14 by suitable means,forming no part of the present invention, and owing to the inductivereaction set up between the movable and the fixed motor members, thecars equipped with said movable members are caused to move over theright of way. The springs 11 permit of relative movement between thevarious bars 9 and the truck frame in which they are carried, while theguide-wheels 12 eflectually maintain substantially constant the air gapbetween the fixed and the movable motor elements.

In Figs. 3 and 4 we have shown a slightly modified form of our inventionin which a single motor element 15 is mounted between the two main rails2. In this case there are rods 9, immovably fixed to the brackets 8 ofthe truck frame 7, and provided with a pair of springs 11 confiningbetween them a bracket 16. The movable motor element 1314 is hung fromtwo or more of these brackets 16 so that its face is adjacent the upperface of the fixed motor element 15. In this case, as before, the springs11 will yield to permit of the truck frame moving 2S-laterallyrelatively to the movable motor element, which in this instance tends toremain in a position immediately above the fixed motor element by reasonof the magnetic connections set up. In this case, there is obviously noneed for the side guide rails with the wheels 12, inasmuch as the airgap between the fixed and movable motor members is maintained constantby reason of the fact that the truck frame is at a substantiallyconstant distance from the main rails 2, the main car wheels thus alsoserving as guide or distance maintaining means. As before, we have shownthe movable motor elements carried by the frame 7 as arranged in twosections, but it is obvious that in the absence of small radius curves,these elements could be made in one length, or under other conditions,would be made in more than three sections.

By reason of the slot and pin connection between the plates 10 and thebars 9, the former are permitted a limited horizontal movement in eitherdirection independently of the car structure connected to said bars 9;thereby materially facilitating the starting of the cars or trains,particularly when heavily loaded.

We claim:

1. The combination in an electric railway system, of a pair of fixedmotor members along opposite sides of the right of way; a car; a movablemotor member; means on the car for slidably supporting said motor memberso that it is free to move laterally thereof in straight lines; withmeans for maintaining substantially constant the distance between thefixed motor members and the member carried bv the car.

2. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motormember mounted along the right of way; a car; a second motor membermounted on the car in position to provide an air gap between itself andthe fixed motor member; means for supporting said second member topermit of its move ment in straight lines laterally of said car; andresilient means for tending to maintain the second motor member in adefinite position relatively to the car.

3. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motormember along the right of way; a car; a second motor member; a structurecarrying said latter member and slidably guided by the car; means formaintaining the air gap between the two motor members substantiallyconstant; and springs acting on said carrying structure tending tomaintain the second motor member in a definite position relatively tothe car.

4. The combination in an electric railway, of a fixed motor membermounted along the right of way; a car having a supporting structure;guiding means on said structure; a second motor member carried by saidguiding means in a position to cooperate with the first motor member andfree to slide laterally of the car; with springs acting between thesecond motor member and the supporting structure and tending to maintainsaid parts in fixed relative positions.

5. The combination in an electric railway system, of a series ofbrackets mounted along opposite sides of the right of way; a fixed motormember and a guide-rail mounted on each of said series of brackets; acar having a supporting frame; transverse bars slidably mounted on saidcar frame; springs tending to maintain said bars in predeterminedpositions; motor members carried at opposite ends of the bars inpositions to cotiperate with the fixed motor members; and guide wheelsalso carried by the bars in positions to cooperate with the guide rails.

6. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motormember extending along the right of way; a car; a second motor membercarried by the car and made in a number of sections supported inposition to cooperate with the fixed motor member; with means formaintaining the sections of the motor member on the car in proper 0-sition relatively to the fixed motor mem er re ardless of lateralmovements of the car.

The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor membermounted along the right of way; a car; with a second motor membermounted on said car in position to co-act with the fixed member and freeto move longitudinally of the car to a limit ed extent.

8. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motormember mounted along the right of way; a car; laterally projectingmembers mounted on the car; a

structure carried on said members and movable thereon longitudinally ofthe car to a limited extent; with a second motor member mounted on saidstructure in position to co act with the fixed motor member.

9. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motormember mounted along the right of way; a car; supporting members mountedon the car and projecting on opposite sides thereof; motor membersmounted on said projecting ends of the supporting members and free tomove thereon if two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES B. MCLEER. JOSEPH F. MCLEER.

Witnesses:

JAMES Knisism', JOHN G. HEERMANS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

